Tuesday, February 4, 2014

I sometimes forget about winter living on a beautiful little island. All it takes is one call back home to West Virginia and all of the cold snowy memories come rushing back.

It was a bit of a push to come up with my January column for Romantic Homes magazine.

I shoot the content so far in advance and it was probably 88 degrees and sunny the day I was working on my column.

In case you didn't see it, the article was about repurposing old sweaters into whimsical home accents...

Most of my old sweaters were used for the projects in the magazine. However, I might have had a twinge of remorse last month when I went searching for one of those sweaters. I could have used a few extra layers! I know I won't be getting any sympathy from anyone in the north reading this post...

but it did get cold (for Sanibel that is!).

One great thing about a windy cold front

blowing onto the island...sea shells!

As many people were digging out of snow piles...

I was digging through piles of shells!

All of these shells were found over one day and one cold rainy night of shelling. We only get an event like this every few years. I was tired and cold and wet but it was sooooooooooooo worth it!

There were Apple Murex and Shark's Eyes...

Banded Tulips...

Olives...

Moon Shells...

Fig Whelks...

Worm Shells...

Cone Shells...

Crown Conchs...

Small Horse Conchs...

Paper Figs...

Venus Sunray Clams...

And my very favorite...the Lace Murex.

It is the one year anniversary of the passing

of my sweet little Lacey.

Every time I find a lacey murex on the beach I know she is with me. This yellow one is spectacular!

And the big trophies of the day were giant horse conchs...

Even my wild child, Pumpkin, was impressed!

Then the task was finding homes for all the bounty. I think I quit counting after 700 whelks. The volume was absurd...but awesome!

It sure was a blessing to see the beaches covered with sea treasures. Once the wind shifted the tide wiped the sand clean once again and it was like my big shelling adventure had never even happened. Thank goodness I went shelling that day...

blog author

Welcome to the world of Surroundings by Melinda. For the past 20 years I have been the owner of a retail shop and interior design consulting business. The shop is now located on Sanibel Island...no worries...we're online too! I am tickled to be able to share creative inspiration from my years appearing on TV and writing for numerous magazines. Thanks for being here...Enjoy!